Officers find elderly woman suffering from dementia, pretend they’re on a walk to bring her back home

The Charles County Sheriff’s Office didn’t hesitate to respond when a woman called to report her 81-year-old mother missing. Fortunatley the officers found her quickly, but what they did next went above and beyond the call of duty. They shared their experience with a post on Facebook,

We often talk about the rewards of police work. On Friday, we captured a moment.

Officers responded to a 911 call from a woman who reported her 81-year-old mother missing. It seems her mother left her house to take her daily walk up and down the driveway, but when she didn’t return, things got a bit scary because the woman’s mother has dementia. Officers P. DeBoe, C. Caywood, B. Morrison, Sgt. C. Black, and Cpl. C. Clevenger and his K9 partner responded to the scene and began a search of the heavily wooded area.

After 40 minutes, the woman was found. At first, she seemed confused at the sudden appearance of police officers on the tree-lined trail, and she asked if the officers were out taking a walk too. They quietly replied ‘Yes,” after all, it was a beautiful day. And then she seemed relieved and told them she had lost her way. “No problem,” said Officer Morrison who then gently took her hand and, along with the other officers walked her back to her house. Along the way, the officers made small talk with the woman, to make her feel at ease. When asked what the key to a long, healthy life was, the woman replied, “Eat good and stay active.”

Officers encounter different situations every day. Some good, some not so good. In this case, a frightening situation for the family ended happily. For that, they were thankful. For us, it’s the rewarding part of policing. #CCSOPRIDE #RESPECTTHOSEWITHDEMENTIA

If you have a loved one suffering from dementia, you’ll appreciate the officer’s extra effort to make everyone feel a little more comfortable.

Feel free to like or share this story. Please leave us a comment on Facebook if you thought the officers involved did a wonderful job.